John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

16. V: Bath in the Potowmack alone. Second Cabinet Meeting at the President’s; and the question of the course to be pursued with relation to General Jackson’s proceedings in Florida recurred— As the opinion is unanimous against Jackson, excepting mine, my range of argument now is only upon the degree to which his acts are to be disavowed. It was urged that the public dissatisfaction at the taking of Pensacola, is so great that the Administration must immediately and publicly disclaim having given any authority for it; and publish all the Instructions given to him, to throw the blame entirely upon him. There was a violent attack upon him and his measures in the Richmond Enquirer, which came this morning, and which Wirt said he had no doubt was written by Judge Roane— I did not conceive it necessary to make of this affair an immediate newspaper negotiation for public opinion. Crawford said that if the Administration did not immediately declare itself and restore Pensacola, it would be held responsible for Jackson’s having taken it, and for having commenced a War in violation of the Constitution. That the People would not support the Administration in such a War. That our Shipping, Navigation and Commerce would be destroyed by Privateers from all parts of the world under the Spanish flag, and that the Administration would sink under it— I thought it would be quite in time if all the documents relating to the subject should be communicated to Congress at their next Meeting, by which means they would naturally become public— That to disavow and publish now, would look like a disposition entirely to put down Jackson in the public opinion— That he would immediately resign, and turn the attack upon the administration, and would carry a large portion of the public opinion with him. That Pensacola might be restored, and its capture by him still justified. That I did not believe War would follow from this measure though I admitted it might— That if it should, it would seriously injure but not destroy our shipping and Commerce— That the only privateering against us to be apprehended would be from English people; and that to no very great extent. That the administration would stand or sink under the War according to its success and that in this and in all other cases the Event must rest with the disposer of Events— In the interval of the discussion I went to my Office and received Hyde de Neuville. He is extremely anxious for the preservation of Peace, and desirous of contributing to it. We looked over the map, and I marked out the boundary which it had been agreed at the President’s that I should be authorized to offer. The Trinity from its mouth to its source; then a line North to the red river; following the course of that to its source, then crossing to the Rio del Norte, and following the course of it, or the summit of a chain of mountains northward and parallel to it. There stop, or take a line west to the Pacific— De Neuville said he would himself go and propose this line to Onis at Bristol— But Onis would probably not dare to conclude without first having an answer, to his Note complaining against Jackson, and the capture of Pensacola— I told him I should answer Onis’s Note, that he would be told that Jackson had taken Pensacola, without orders and upon his own responsibility— That the place would be restored; but that no blame could be admitted as attaching to General Jackson; and strong charges would be made against the Governor of Pensacola, and the Commandant of St. Marks— He asked if I could not write a note passing lightly over the conduct of the Officers on both sides and stating that Pensacola would be restored with the expression of regret at what has taken place— If I could, he would himself take the Letter to Mr Onis at Bristol; and if on conversing with him he found him prepared to agree to the terms of a Treaty which would be satisfactory to us, he would deliver the Letter to him—if not he would bring it back— I returned to the President’s and after consideration of this proposal it was determined to accept the offer of Mr de Neuville, if he thought fit to use his influence with Mr Onis, to prevail upon him to agree to our terms, but that the answer to Onis’s Note, must be totally disconnected with the success of the Negotiation, and delivered to him at all Events— We dined again at the President’s. Mr Rodney and Mr Breckenridge were 375there— I walked home with Mr Calhoun, and afterwards found at my own house Mr ten Cate, who agreed to meet me at the river to-morrow Morning to bathe.